How to Start (& FILL) Your Sketchbook!

Nailed it. Hey guys, we got a new one of these today,
and it is a sketchbook. I haven’t done too much with a sketchbook
the last couple months, because I… lost mine. Let me… let me just open this up. Alright, I’m gonna talk to you guys about
how to start a sketchbook, and how to actually finish it and fill it. That’s the most exciting part, right?! It’s also pretty intimidating just to even
do the starting part. I think a lot of people kind of have this
fear of these things… that, like, what if I make something bad, and then ruin this book
that I just bought? The first thing you can do, is set up a happy
atmosphere, or go to one. So whether that’s cleaning off your art desk
to make it seem organized again to motivate you, or going to a coffee shop, lighting candles,
watching Netflix while you draw… maybe even just going outside. Whatever helps you feel like there’s less
pressure and more motivation happening… hey, that’s good! Right? If you are somebody who is afraid of ruining
a sketchbook because you paid money for one of these, and you’re afraid your art isn’t
good enough… buy a cheap sketchbook. That is right. Literally just go to the dollar store and
buy something cheap. Because it’ll get you in the habit of just
using your sketchbook. You will build confidence over time and be
like, “oh this is really not that big of a deal. I can upgrade to something nicer in the future.” Another thing you can do is to simply create
patterns in your sketchbook. This one seems pretty silly, but it’s actually
one of my favorite activities to get me loosened up and ready to delve into something deeper. So some things you can do with patterns is
simple repeating shapes, different colorful blobs, or just a lot little things that are
familiar to you. For me, that is flowers and plants. It just makes me feel really comfortable and,
you know, somethings you don’t really have to push yourself all the time. You can do these therapeutic relaxing things. And yeah, for me it’s definitely patterns. I love just scattering a lot of flowers and
leaves on pages. Add some splashes of color. And when you look back to that page, you can
think, “wow, it’s so colorful and looks so happy in my sketchbook!” Do you ever get a new art supply and you really
want to use it on a big project? Well first, you can swatch it in your sketchbook. This is really nice too, because if you’re
on-the-go, and you want to look back at certain colors to use, BOOM you can turn to this page. I find swatch pages are very helpful, especially
when I just kind of want to pick out color schemes and color palettes for future pieces. So it’s nice, because it’s colorful, but it’s
also something you can use again and again by looking back at it. The fifth thing you can do is to draw what
you struggle with the most. This is where you will see a lot of improvement
happening. Sketchbooks aren’t always meant to look pretty. They are meant to help us, and if you want
to grow, you are totally welcome to draw the things that you have trouble drawing. For me, this is definitely anatomy, and right
now I’m drawing noses, because I really want to get better at them. So I’m not using fancy colors or anything. I’m just using a pencil. But, I just practiced drawing noses from different
angles, and I will probably repeat this same exercise about 3 or 4 or 5 more times in this
same sketchbook. So yeah, pick what you want to improve. Nobody has to see this. And if it doesn’t turn out okay… that’s
fine! At least you tried, and you probably improved
anyway. This is definitely one of my favorite activities
for my sketchbook when I first get it. I love setting goals for myself. You’ve probably seen me mention this in other
sketchbooks, because that is how effective I feel these lists are. Sure, it fills one page, but this goal list
carries on throughout your sketchbook. If you have goals of what you want to improve,
those things are always staring back at you on this page. So those days that you really want to get
better, you want to make art, but you just don’t know what to do… look back at these
goals! The best part, though, when you finish your
sketchbook, it is so rewarding to turn back to your goal page and cross things off. It feels amazing! Now, I’m a list person, so I made career goals
and miscellaneous goals as well. You don’t have to do this, but feel free… The next thing you can do are zentangles. These are basically very therapeutic, mindless
art projects that takes simple lines. It doesn’t really involve a lot of thinking. You can just do different shapes, and spots. Use really fun colors. Pens or pencils. Doesn’t really matter. But the nice thing about it is it is so therapeutic. So say you had a bad day, and you just want
to unwind and relax. Maybe you’re stressed out. This is a wonderful go-to activity. Not to mention, if you like doing a Netflix
binge, but you also feel like drawing… this is perfect! You don’t have to miss out on your show because
you’re focusing on so many details. You can just kinda… go back to this and
stop wherever you really want. I always find that these look beautiful once
the page is completely filled. They’re really fun to look back at later. The last idea I’m going to leave you with
is to draw your day. Lots of different things happen to us throughout
the day, which leaves us with lots of highlights, or lowlights. Regardless, it’s gonna challenge you to draw
a lot of different things… or paint them. For instance, right now, you will see me drawing
avocado toast, laundry, gardening stuff, camera. Lots of things. Because this is what happened in my day. Not only does this push you to draw different
stuff, but it’s really therapeutic, and it’s kind of fun to record what happens to us without
a lot of writing. Just a lot of pictures. And I feel like I can remember these days
pretty vividly because of that. It’s very unique. If you’re a bullet journaler, you might really
like this activity in your bullet journals as well. Here’s this cheesy little thing I made for
you. Alright, thanks for watching. I hope you found this helpful, and it gave
you some new ideas! Have a wonderful day, and best of luck working
through your sketchbooks!

tip: just don’t force yourself to draw. If you really want to draw and you don’t know what to draw, watch some Sketchbook flipthroughs, go to Pinterest inspiration boards and draw something you want to. Don’t slack on it, draw what you really want to turn out. Don’t blame other things if you don’t work hard enough to make something good

Super great tips! You write and paint so pretty! But hey as a fellow leftie, try to re-train yourself to not push on your thumb, you could create a strain or wear and tear in the joint that could cause early pain and even arthritis and that would be such a devastating thing. So try to practice holding a more joint friendly way. <3

Oh and I have so many sketchbooks! I bought one that I felt was so precious that I bought one to literally abuse as much as I can (it was the goal I put up to try to make it as ugly as possible but still serious attempts. But it can be rained on outside, can try new supplies, do exercises etc) then use precious for like clean versions of ideas! And my black sketchbook will be my first bullet journal with white pretty pen, and a tan sketchbook for when I am in the mood for colored pencils. Now I just added watercolor pencils to my collection and neither of my four sketchbooks take water well so I might need a fifth. 😂

So I have the ginormous sized sketchbook. I have like 1 sketch in it. I feel pressured about what to fill it in with! I’m really trying to find the time to make a zentengle (idk how to spell it)! awesome video btw

I used to always draw in my notebooks at school, now I just don't feel comfortable drawing on paper without lines, my sketchbooks are all just notebooks. I wish I could draw on blanc paper, because it's not always nice to have lines through your drawings. Anyone else, or any tips on how to get comfortable drawing on blanc paper?

What I always do on the first page of my sketchbook is put the date of the day is started the book. When I finish it, I put that date on the last page. When I look back, I see when I started and how I improved. This will also help you to start.

I’ve been wanting to start a sketch book again for a while. You’ve motivated me and actually given me a clearer picture of the things I wanna create in it. And I totally get the omg it’s a posh expensive sketch book I don’t wanna ruin it but now I’m thinking differently and more willing to accept mistakes etc or else I won’t improve 🙃

If you’re stuck on what to draw then maybe draw an OC based on a song. I just did this (at 3AM) and I love the drawing soo much. The song I based my character off of was Smoke and Mirriors.It’s a song about killing a girl that likes your crush and your crush likes them so you kill her so you can be with your crush. It’s hard to explain but I just did a Yandere girl. Since they’re technically Japanese I find it useful to look up Japanese names to name your OC